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November 22, 2024
 

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Patrick St. Michel
Patrick St. Michel is a Tokyo-based writer with a focus on Japanese music. He runs the blog Make Believe Melodies, which has focused on Japanese independent music since 2009. Besides The Japan Times, he also contributes to MTV 81 and The Atlantic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 27, 2018
Sally Amaki's life as an animated idol-pop star
Though she liked anime growing up, Sally Amaki never thought she'd grow up to be an anime character.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 21, 2018
Plight of 'Mizuho refugees' stirs debate on banking services in Japan
Imagine wrapping up a tough work week and jumping into a three-day weekend. Maybe you just plan on lounging around at home with the air conditioner on at full blast. Or perhaps you’ll hit the road and head out of the city to get a welcome break from urban life. At some point you’ll probably need...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 21, 2018
Ginza Cozy Corner's sweet take on the 'Summer Holidays'
Ginza Cozy Corner is serving up all the flavors of summer with their adorable nine-piece 'Summer Holidays' cake set.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jul 18, 2018
Da Pump scores an unexpected summer hit with 'U.S.A.'
The highly coveted song of the summer needs to cut across demographics and unite one nation under a beat. Think Len's "Steal My Sunshine" in 1999, Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" in 2013 or Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" in 2017. Who'd have thought that, in 2018 Japan, the uniting beat would be Eurobeat?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jul 14, 2018
Don't scoff at vanilla: Seven-Eleven's Waffle Cone Milk Vanilla is simply delicious
Seven-Eleven's Waffle Cone Milk Vanilla ice cream might not be 'offbeat,' but sometimes classic flavors are all you need to survive the summer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 14, 2018
Recent flooding highlights power of social media in a disaster
Online users in Japan followed the storms that lead to devastating floods and landslides in the western part of the country closely as they unfolded last week. The topic remained central to discussion on social media as the days went on and the full extent of the damage became clear.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 13, 2018
Oshu: A semi-rural city with a major league star
Oshu, the home of the Los Angeles Angels' two-way baseball star Shohei Ohtani, is dotted with unassuming tributes to this home-grown hero.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 7, 2018
Restaurant chains are taking the smoking ban into their own hands
Although the anti-smoking laws recently passed by Japan's national government have yet to go into effect, several popular restaurant chains have already gone completely smoke-free. But will that be enough to help make Japan a smoke-free country by 2020?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 7, 2018
Grab a cookie (or five) to share at Tokyo Station's Country Ma'am Tea House
At its new pop-up shop, Country Ma'am gives some of its long-running cookies a classy teatime upgrade.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 30, 2018
Celebrating the memes the 2018 soccer World Cup has created
Japan’s surprising success at the 2018 World Cup in Russia has dominated headlines and morning shows domestically. News organizations abroad, however, honed in on a very different topic — trash.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jun 30, 2018
Embrace traditional Japanese flavors with Seven-Eleven's brown sugar kuzukiri
Seven-Eleven's mix-it-yourself brown sugar kuzukiri is a cool, refreshing summer treat.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2018
Behind the ever-changing sound of Wednesday Campanella
It's a sure bet that when Wednesday Campanella plays a festival lineup, frontwoman Kom_I will steal the show.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 23, 2018
Struggling to stay on top of fake social media posts in a disaster
Shortly after the Kansai region was rattled by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake on June 18, photos of the damage started popping up on social media. Tweets showed a bookstore that looked as if it had been turned upside-down, a damaged electronic sign at a train station and shattered glass in front of a ticket...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jun 23, 2018
Lawson's mango and milk soft cream: even better for the waffle cone
Lawson's seasonal soft cream brings plenty of sweetness and mango flavor.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 21, 2018
Online media pick up #MeToo stories the major outlets miss
The Japanese media love a scandal and so far 2018 hasn't disappointed in that regard. Two recent stories centered around J-pop idols have been mostly ignored by mainstream outlets, but both have taken off online thanks to web publications, hinting at a shift unfolding in the nation's news landscape....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 16, 2018
Meet summer head on with Coco's limited-edition Pop Blue Soda kakigōri shaved ice
The addition of popping candies on top of this Blue Hawaii and lemon-flavored kakigu014dri might not add much flavor-wise, but they are a treat to be enjoyed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 16, 2018
Online Japanese releases under fire after missing the mark
Even the most innocuous upload can carry political baggage online in 2018. It’s a truth Western users have become used to, where a pancake restaurant’s idiotic rebranding strategy can become a discussion about the appropriation of gang culture. Recent examples show that Japanese netizens are just...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jun 14, 2018
Get ready for summer: Night pools, outdoor concerts and Pikachu armies
You know when you go on YouTube — or Spotify, or Netflix — and you’re faced with so many options for entertainment that you don’t know where to start? It can feel like that with Japanese summer festivals, too.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 9, 2018
Instagram rules and food trends flourish in Shin-Okubo, Tokyo's Koreatown
Move over, Harajuku. Although the Instagram-ready 'rainbow hot dog' might bring the crowd to Shin-Okubo, Korean food is well on its way to becoming a true culinary staple.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jun 9, 2018
Lemondo: Coca-Cola's first foray into the world of alcopops
Is it worth shipping Coca-Cola's new alcoholic drink 1,000 kilometers from Kyushu? Undoubtedly yes.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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